Statement from Transportation Alternatives after Traffic Violence Kills Four New Yorkers and Leaves Four Others Critically Injured over Halloween Weekend
Traffic violence has killed 217 New Yorkers this year so far, 12 more than were killed in all of 2018.
This is the 23rd person killed on a bike in 2024, the second killed in the past week, and the fourth killed in the last two weeks.
So far, 2024 is tied to be the most deadly year in Manhattan in Vision Zero history. Nearly twice as many people have been killed so far in the borough than by this point in the safest year, 2018.
NEW YORK — Over the weekend, traffic violence killed four New Yorkers and left four others critically injured.
There were four fatal crashes:
A van driver attempting to evade a traffic stop in Harlem hit and killed a person on a bike. The driver did not stop.
An SUV driver hit and killed a 66-year-old pedestrian crossing the street in Canarsie.
A driver hit and killed a motorcyclist in Maspeth.
An SUV driver hit and killed a 66-year-old pedestrian in Harlem. The driver did not stop.
There were four crashes that left New Yorkers in critical condition:
A driver hit and critically injured a pedestrian in Astoria. The driver did not stop.
A car rear-ended two cyclists in Clinton Hill. One is in stable condition, but the other remains in critical condition.
A driver was critically injured in a single-vehicle crash in Coney Island.
An e-scooter rider was critically injured in a single-vehicle crash in Central Park.
The cyclist killed in Harlem is the fifth New Yorker killed by a driver evading the police this year alone. Just last week, there was a vigil for Amanda Servedio, who was killed during a police chase just a few blocks from home in Astoria.
The vehicle that was allegedly involved in the Clinton Hill crash has received eight speeding tickets since August. TA supports the Speed Limiters for Repeat Offenders bill, which has been introduced in the state legislature and would require Intelligent Speed Assistance technology installed in the vehicles of repeat reckless drivers and which would prevent their vehicles from exceeding the speed limit by more than 5 mph over the speed limit. The bill is currently in committee.
In 2015, DOT promised to install a curb extension at the intersection where the person on a bike was killed in Harlem. They never installed one. DOT has also promised to daylight 1,000 intersections in the wake of the crash that killed Kamari Hughes – and they’ve fallen dangerously behind on that goal.
Statement from Elizabeth Adams, Interim Co-Executive Director at Transportation Alternatives:
“Over the past weekend, traffic violence killed four New Yorkers, left another four in critical condition, and seriously injured many others. We send our condolences, our love, and our support to the family, friends, and community of each and every person touched y traffic violence.”
“New York is failing its citizens. Simple commonsense efforts by City Hall and Albany – to ban police chases in policy and practice, to build real protected bike lanes, to daylight intersections with curb extensions, and to pass legislation that mandates speed limiters in the cars of New York’s most reckless drivers – could save lives and prevent injury starting today. ”
“We have the tools to keep people safe. It’s time to use them. New Yorkers can’t afford to wait.”
